Morihiro Saito
1928 – 2002
9th Dan, Shihan · Keeper of the Aiki Shrine
About Saito Sensei ↓About Saito Sensei
This website is dedicated to Morihiro Saito Sensei, the longest serving students of O-Sensei (the founder of Aikido).
Saito Sensei, trained under O-Sensei for 23 years and since O-Sensei's passing, was the head of the Iwama Dojo and the keeper of the Aiki Shrine.
Morihiro Saito Sensei, passed away on the 13th of May 2002 at the age of 74.
Morihiro Saito Sensei was born near Iwama and was a railway worker in his earlier years giving him plenty of free time for training. He had prior martial arts experience in karate and kendo. He entered the Iwama dojo at seventeen and trained there for twenty-three years as a dedicated student, becoming known early on for his strength and vigorous practice methods.
Photo credit: Aikido Journal
Saito Sensei & Aikido
After O-Sensei's death, Saito Sensei devoted himself to preserving the founder's techniques. His teaching excellence and extensive knowledge drew practitioners worldwide to Iwama Dojo. He conducted international seminars, published technical manuals, and permitted his methods to be documented for student reference. He developed a systematic teaching approach recognized for clarity and comprehensiveness.
Saito Sensei was renowned throughout the world for his depth of technical knowledge and his largely single-handed dissemination of Aikido weapons. He trained for over fifty years, authored highly praised reference manuals, and conducted extensive international seminars spanning more than thirty years of teaching.
Saito Sensei & Australia
Saito Sensei's teaching in Aikido had profound impact all over the world and Australia was no exception. Multiple Australian instructors trained under him, spreading his approach during the 1980s and 1990s. He visited Australia frequently for seminars.
Takemusu Aiki Association
The Takemusu Aiki Association was formed by Takayasu Sensei in 1980 in order to preserve and pass on the teachings of O-Sensei as taught to Saito Sensei.
Takayasu Sensei trained under Saito Sensei in the late 1960s and early 1970s at Iwama, considering that period's teachings a pure expression of O-Sensei's methods.
Takayasu Sensei is Saito Sensei's highest ranked Japanese instructor who is teaching outside of Japan, and he feels a strong obligation to pass on Saito Sensei's teachings from this period.
The Association organized seminars bringing Saito Sensei to Australia in 1983, 1985, 1986, 1988, 1995, 1996, 1997, and 2000. The 2000 seminar drew over 300 participants from Australia and worldwide. In 2001, the Association arranged an intensive training tour to Iwama.
The Association continues expanding with the goal of transmitting O-Sensei's Aikido as presented to Saito Sensei and transmitted to Takayasu Sensei.
Photo credits: Derek Minus, Bruce Choy, Russell Pearse, Adam Cole-Clark, Aikido Journal and respective owners.